The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1887-05-26
CONVICT. LABOR. 3.
NOT AsroruLARAs IT WAS ONCE,
The Penitentiary Bonrd of Directors Fail tG
Receive a Bid for the Labor OF q Mum.
Der of Consiots-Iiow the Trouble,
Is to be Adjusted q Puzzle.

NhtuoNo hiu ioF "o Ataoor VI Nuuls
Der Of Consiots-Iiow the Trouble,
Is to be Adjusted a Puzzle.
A regular meeting Of the Board OF
Directors Of the State Penitentiary at
Moundsville, wss held at that insti.
tuition yesterday. There was more
than the uAual amount OF business
presented for consideration and the Board
boing unable 10 dispose Of 1t all In one
day, was Obliged to adjourn until to-day.
At a recent meeting Of the Board It ad.
vertised for bids for the labor Of a number
Of couviCta for whom there was no work
at which they could be employed, the
contractors all having theirAfull compile.
ment Of convcts. The unemployed con.
yiets now number between sixty and
seventy. The bids were to have been
opened at Yesterdays meeting, but not a
single bid was handed In and
now the Board has tho perple1ing and
interesting problem Of what to do with
the unemployed convicts, to solve. 1t Ia
generally agreed that something must be
provided, and that soon, Gt which the
idle ones can be worked, Tor II they are
allowed to remain unemployed deplora.
BILE and dangerous condition OF affairs IL
liable to follow. Such at least has been
the experience In other prisons.
A iow yeata ago 1t was matter OF but
little trouble, none in fact, 10 dispose oil
all the able.boded convicta in tho institu,
ton 10 contractors aud that at q good
price. Then the cry Was raised againht
convict labor and 1t has been sounded
louder andlou ever Bince further, there
was added 10 1t in many instances, a "boy.
colt" on convict madearticleg, and the two
combined, have yserved.t to mako convict Ia
Dor rather undesirable. At the time when
there WAS good strong demand for con.
yics labor the Slate derived q goodly re-
venue and 1t only required small sppro
pristions, comparatively speaking, to keeE
the institution in good running order. But
as the revenue from tho conviCts has do
creased, the appropriations have not been
Increased in a like ratio and OF late
years the Boards have been Obliged
10 make the closest calculations in ordsl
Ito keep the expenditures within TIT
amounts appropriated and received from
the contractors, and there have been time
when there has been failure to do this
The Directors complain that there seeml
10 be 10 one who takes an interest in TILL
institution, such as is taken in the STATE
Univereity at MoIgsntown, tho IEesn,
, Asylum at Weston, and the Deaf
Dumb and Blind Iustitute a
Romney, by the people OF thosl
localities. They complain further tina
this same "dun't-care" feeling ia found ir
the Legislature, and that mea2se appro
priat!ons arc the result, the cry OF 'job'
: being raiesd If anything extra Is aske(
for. 1t lie tho unanimous opinion Of thusl
who arc we'll posted ss 10 tho working
OF The peHitentiaSy that the tine is no
lar distant when tho care and employ
ment Of tho couyicts will bs yexel
question in this State.
| The Dosrd 81 its Hessloa yesterday, ate
finding that there were 40 bids in Tor tn,
labor 81 the unemployed prisoners, ar
ranged to have them employed for TIM
ion the following work: as every ont
knows who has Waited t::o ptnitentisry i
wSs vary iOolisbIy built IL low hollow
where it receives the drain from some IL;
acres. Tho wash Ci repeated Iains coming
down agsinEt tho walls has at last com.
menced to undermine them and it ha:
become &n imperative neCessity 70 put In
drains where they snoUli have been pu
long ago. This Legislature at it,
lsst meeting allowed afm4ll appropriation
for the purchase OF pipe tor thiB work, and
a gang Of the convicig will BIZ put to work
ditChlg and putting II tho pipe.
When the peni:tntn!ty Has built the
waets stoned and epRw!s %br5 used to con.
s.ruct foundations for shops that have
eince been erected. There yet remains
one foundation on which no building has
yet besn pisCed.. The Board has decided
10 cree: b,ick building on il
End another garg OF conVicts viii
be worked c!eaniD1 the foundation out
t1hen come clay LAID will be iepsGd and
they will be worked ct brick max
iIg, and FuCh as are able to do thai
kind I'll wors, will be used 10 build
the r!e1Gset building, which will BE-
OF tie s.za CT tho chops. The idea i,
TO svantHa!ly use tho lower llooi
"a kAt new LEllG't.G ~ bleSs Hbll, LIZA
Estc0nd story vii! be used as y hospilal es
sIG@ ns tiniEheG, hereby Providing fol
tho caTe Of infectious cGsss uutaitt
OF the msin building where thu
oilicerB Iva and where the hoe
pitaI has heretofore been. At present the
Eeccnd siory Of the bake house, formerly
the chapel, ia used for hospital purposes
it was from tLero that two prisoners es
capped Il few daya since. Tbs north
wing OF the prison will, however, con
tinCe in u6s rs lrees hail uI
| til tho Slate m&ke8 M appropriation TO ii;
it up with five tiers OF cells, similar 10 thC
other wing, it having been built to be 81
fitted up whenever there should
be necessity for more cells
That necessity exists now anu
the Board will strongly uIss tho mex
Legislature 10 make Ill appropriation t
huId these celis. As il is nov, it is neces
sary 10 place two C0nviCls in several OF thu
CsIIE, which may almost be eaid TO bs al
iuhuman ihiug to do.
At yesterdays meeting the Bokrd made
Nr. Frank Brown, formerly cleFE, the
itrCSaurhr, vice Mr. Alexander Ewing, ex
Superintendent and Hon. James W. Gal
!aSher, the director rejected by the Ser
ate. Superintendent III. Robertson me
with tho Board for tho first tins suc
made IN excellent impression. Severa
members predicted that Gs soon pe ;ht
prisonUra learned TO know him his man
HgemeI. would bs all that could be dc
B!red, 8EG that the bee: Of discipline woulC
be restored. AttO.dRy's meeting the con
Wet labor question will be further dis
cussed.
| 4 NlINnEHRK SENrESI,En